Bamboo Thinning

I waited all summer to tackle this task. I knew that the bamboo along side the garden shed was getting too large.

It was starting to interfere with another grass plant I have near that location, and the Boxwood on the other side. So, I decided to thin out the plant and use the cuttings elsewhere. 

My neighbors and I both have vegetable gardens along side the fence that we jointly installed. The fence is an open aluminum style fence, and as a result, my neighbor has to see my behind-the-shed garden work area. Wanting to help hide the view for them, I decided to transplant the bamboo cuttings to the fence line.

 

To do so, I had to install two 6 x6 wooden beams on either side of the bed to help limit the spread of the bamboo (They are being recycled from the fence line in the stroll garden as I prepare to change that area next year with a new fence). The Clumping Bamboo (Fargesia rufa) I have is very slow growing and easy to control, but it will spread if not contained. The 6 x6 timbers, buried halfway, should help keep the rhizomes in place so that they don't spread into the neighbors garden or my work area. 

In time it will fill in more, but it will take a couple years. At that time I can thin this out and find a new location to plants some bamboo.

In the meantime, the bamboo by the shed looks nicer, but it too will continue to grow, and I will have to repeat this process in a few years.